Plant Conservation in Thailand: Dokmai Garden and the Orchid Ark
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Commentary NAT. HIST. BULL. SIAM. SOC. 59(1): 5–14, 2013 PLANT CONSERVATION IN THAILAND: DOKMAI GARDEN AND THE ORCHID ARK James A. Wearn1,2 and André Schuiteman1 ABSTRACT Thailand’s diverse flora is under threat from extensive habitat degradation and illegal plant collection. The activities of botanic gardens, in cooperation with other organisations and authorities at regional and national levels, are vital for in situ and ex situ conservation of threatened plant taxa as well as habitat restoration. Additionally, participatory educational outreach strategies increase awareness of the importance of plants and support for their conservation. This paper reports on a botanic garden which has been established recently in northern Thailand, and the far-sighted vision of its Director. Orchids are particularly vulnerable due to their widespread appeal, and so, the creation of a regional ‘Orchid Ark’ has formed a significant step towards maintenance of an ex situ gene pool. Reliance on biodiversity preservation in organisations which are spatially distant from regions of conservation concern inevitably correlates negatively with geographical and taxonomic coverage within living collections. The establishment of Arks (not exclusively for orchids) in the floristic regions to which their taxa are native would present a valuable asset, as each would serve as a repository for genetic conservation in the short term and a proximate source of material reintroductions and restoration once appropriate land had been secured. Key words: conservation, education, ex situ, orchid, repository, threat INTRODUCTION Thailand is floristically very rich, numbering more than 10,000 vascular plant species (recent estimates include: 10,000 [SANTISUK ET AL., 2006], 10,250 [MIDDLETON, 2003] and 12,500 [PARNELL, 2000]), and is placed centrally within the Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot, one of 25 regions recognised as global conservation priorities (e.g. MYERS ET AL., 2000; CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL, 2012). Historically, the flora of Thailand has been under-collected (scientifically) and insufficiently documented, whilst habitat loss and risk of extinctions have exacerbated the situation—traits shared by the country’s Indo-Burmese neighbours: Burma, Cambodia, PDR Lao and Vietnam (WILLIAMS, 2011). The ongoing Flora of Thailand project (1970 to present) is redressing this deficit—196 families having been covered so far in 34 parts of the Flora within 12 volumes—the first part of the largest family, the Orchidaceae, having been completed most recently (PEDERSEN ET AL., 2011), building on significant work by Gunnar Seidenfaden (e.g. SEIDENFADEN, 1977) and others. Progress has been advanced significantly by international collaboration, encouragement of students and local engagement (MIDDLETON, 2003). 1 Herbarium, Library, Art & Archives Directorate, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3AE, UK 2 E-mail: [email protected] Received 8 August 2012; accepted 30 January 2013. 5 6 JAMES A. WEARN AND ANDRÉ SCHUITEMAN Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden in Chiang Mai Province has made an outstanding contribution to Thai plant conservation and research for many years. Recently, a new botanic garden named ‘Dokmai Garden’ was established in the province. The creators of this new garden aim to play a substantial role in conservation and education, as well as expanding botanical networks within and outside Thailand, particularly for the preservation of threatened orchids. The Director of Dokmai Garden initiated contact with the first author two years ago and this article has been created following their discussions. Two major challenges for Thai botany lie ahead. The first—cataloguing of extant plant diversity—is now ca. 57% complete (including completed, unpublished accounts (D. Middleton, pers. comm.), based on the total species estimate in MIDDLETON [2003]). We may be only a little over half way along the road to knowing the diversity but the project has provided grounds for optimism, having already yielded much information on local hotspots and future targets for research and conservation, alongside 40+ years of establishing collaborative networks, which will enhance future outputs. Additionally, consideration of endemic, rare and endangered taxa has led to the production of red lists of threatened plants in Thailand (POOMA ET AL., 2005; SANTISUK ET AL., 2006), forming pioneering first steps towards comprehensive IUCN assessments, and which will be expanded as the Flora project moves forward. High biodiversity, although often positively correlated with the level of threat to an ecosystem (especially in the Asian tropics), always needs to be assessed on a case-by-case basis because species richness, as a single index, is insufficient to identify areas of conservation priority (ORME ET AL., 2005). Careful consideration of endemism and threats is required for the preparation of accurate geographical and taxonomic assessments. The second challenge is the application of knowledge obtained during the completion of the first: conservation and sustainable use of the flora that remains. The changing role of botanic gardens has been documented recently (MAUNDER ET AL., 2004; DONALDSON, 2009; AKOPIAN, 2010; HARDWICK ET AL., 2011; MABBERLEY, 2011), and the essential strategic focuses for the twenty-first century are conservation, habitat restoration, and leadership in public engagement, in addition to the more traditional recreational and pure scientific research directions. However, the significance of botanic gardens has often been overlooked (CRANE ET AL., 2009). There is a clear discrepancy between the localities of the major botanic gardens and those of the majority of endangered taxa. FRANKEL ET AL. (1995) inferred that this situation places most of the ‘burden’ of preservation on ex situ conservation in greenhouses and seed banks. However, the development of new centres together with increased support for the few which have already been established, in close proximity to where they can most efficiently carry out in situ as well as ex situ conservation actions, presents a logical way forward. Costs of logistics (transportation, export), maintenance (specially designed and constructed buildings, heating) and so on, associated with biodiversity preservation in organisations which are spatially distant from regions of conservation concern, inevitably increase with more comprehensive geographical and taxonomic coverage within living collections. On the one hand these, often long established, botanic gardens are well placed to exert influence through outreach activities to ‘inform and inspire’ (MABBERLEY, 2011), educating and motivating the general public, political bodies, commercial enterprises, and so forth (in addition to their significant contributions to core scientific research and derivative outputs, see HARDWICK ET AL., 2003), capitalising on their longstanding expertise and global recognition. On the other, botanic gardens suitably placed within regions of conservation concern are ideally located PLANT CONSERVATION IN THAILAND: DOKMAI GARDEN AND THE ORCHID ARK 7 to be efficient repositories of local and regional floras, and to exert influence for in situ conservation at these scales (CHEN ET AL., 2009). In addition, certain scientific studies, such as observations on pollination ecology, may well be feasible in botanic gardens situated within the natural range of occurrence of plants and their pollinators, but are almost impossible to carry out in botanic gardens elsewhere. Nevertheless, it has to be acknowledged that there are often prominent political and financial hurdles to overcome in order to ensure stabilisation of ‘local’ conservation/restoration centres—hence, the need for a cohesive network with multidirectional interactions. DOKMAI GARDEN’S CONTRIBUTION TO THAI PLANT CONSERVATION AND PUBLIC EDUCATION Unambiguously named, Thailand’s Dokmai Garden (‘Dokmai’ is Thai for ‘flower’), is a newly established botanic garden which opened to the general public in January 2009 (www. dokmaigarden.co.th). The Garden is located in Chiang Mai Province, ca. 16 km south-west of Chiang Mai (18°40.634'N, 98°52.749'E). It is currently a relatively small site, of approximately 10 acres (4 ha), though more than 1,300 species have been recorded there (including plants, fungi, birds, reptiles, etc.). The Garden is privately managed, with six full-time staff supported by additional human resources, dependent on project requirements. The Garden’s Director, Dr. Eric Danell, is a plant physiologist and Associate Professor in Forest Microbiology from Uppsala University, Sweden, though his concerns extend from botany to entomology, ornithology and mycology, giving Dokmai a ‘whole ecosystem’ approach. Currently, he is the only academically trained biologist at the site, but he and his team are rapidly developing networks to reinforce the ecological and horticultural and conservation activities taking place as well as engaging, and helping to train, new generations of botanists. The living collection at Dokmai currently numbers more than 1,200 plant taxa (a figure which is continually increasing as the team extend their activities), with a particular focus on the native flora of Thailand, though also representing many other tropical to temperate floras. Between 2009 and 2011, the Garden received ca. 3,000 visitors from around the world, and this is increasing as publicity is being widened. Public education is a key component of Dokmai’s outreach strategy, both locally and internationally.